Missouri: State Board Rehires State Commissioner Ousted by Disgraced Ex-Governor

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1. Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

   November 21, 2018 at 5:34 pm

   Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Diane and all.

   Thank you for sanity.

   Reply
2. Wait, What? says:

   November 21, 2018 at 5:37 pm

   This is significant! One more 2018 battle ground won for the good guys.
   The current governor is an old school conservative Republican. He likes public education.

   The ousted Governor was a Trump clone. He wanted to be one of the good old boys in the grand old party overnight and was on his way.

   He was in progress of getting control of the state education board with his appointees, firing this former Commissioner (who by all reports was doing a sound, fair, and objective job), and preparing to get ultra-right profiteers / charter/voucher devotees on the board and a charter puppet in the commissioner position. A cautionary bad case scenario tale.

   Missouri is still a “oh yeh, so prove it” state and even the hardline conservatives test every issue instead of going with the big government federal the party line of either party. In spite of being the home of the Waltons, a landslide GOP vote, and a few loud charter advocates, “reform” has not been prominent.

   Reply
   • Duane E Swacker says:

     November 22, 2018 at 9:16 am

     ” (who by all reports was doing a sound, fair, and objective job)”

     I guess if you consider the mandating of educational malpractices to be a “sound, fair and objective” job then she was doing a job-an inexcusable job that is.

     “Missouri is still a “oh yeh, so prove it” state. . . ”

     Yes, sometimes not following the crowd is a good thing. We’re not called the Show Me State for nothing.

     “In spite of being the home of the Waltons,”

     Arkansas, the state to the south of Missouri is the home of the Waltons although one daughter lives in Columbia. Look up the UMC “Paige” Arena fiasco for a little humor.

     Reply
3. LeftCoastTeacher says:

   November 21, 2018 at 6:24 pm

   I’m sorry, but I feel compelled to go off topic. Now that the 2018 elections have shaken out, I wonder what the prospects are for ending mandatory annual testing in grades 3-8. Has Congress changed for the better on this issue? When is the ESSA up for review? The testing has to stop. It is the bane of my teaching existence.

   Reply
   • SomeDam Poet says:

     November 21, 2018 at 6:38 pm

     The Democrats love testing
     It just can’t be denied
     They’re busily investing
     And bursting with the pride

     The Democrats love ESSA
     Which keeps the tests in place
     I really must confess, here
     The Demos love the Race

     Reply
     • LeftCoastTeacher says:

       November 21, 2018 at 7:05 pm

       Wall Street loves the testing;
       Silicon Valley loves it too.
       Gates finds all data arresting,
       And my bosses love them too.

       Those in charge love ESSA
       Which keeps the tests in place,
       Only good people hate ESSA
       And we’re kept in our place.

     • dianeravitch says:

       November 21, 2018 at 8:09 pm

       One more thing about ESSA.
       The Democratic Senators wanted to keep VAM and AYP.
       Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut offered an amendment to keep all the punitive features in place, the worst aspects of NCLB. The Republicans voted no, and the Murphy Amendment died. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren voted yes to the Murphy Amendment.

   • LeftCoastTeacher says:

     November 21, 2018 at 7:06 pm

     Sorry, don’t mean to usurp the post. Just hate testing.

     Reply
     • SomeDam Poet says:

       November 21, 2018 at 7:17 pm

       Elizabeth Warren and other Dems are the reason that the Federal testing mandate remained in ESSA.

       The Republicans were ready to jettison it, but Dems insisted on keeping it, you know, cuz testing is the civil Rights issue of our time.

       Ha ha ha.

       Sometimes I wonder how Harvard profs can be so dumb about some things. Is it something in the water in Cambridge?

     • dianeravitch says:

       November 21, 2018 at 8:05 pm

       No, SDP. Honesty is required to understand why ESSA retained annual testing. Two words: Bill Gates.

       He gave millions to Education Trust. Kati Haycock put the lean on every group that Gages paid. So all of a sudden, the “right” to take a standardized test was a civil right. It was a power play.

     • Caligirl says:

       November 21, 2018 at 10:59 pm

       Left Coast – you dare write a poem after SomeDam Poet ? Actually it is great – we need lots of poetry in these times – how poetic was the election – we won the house ! !

   • dianeravitch says:

     November 21, 2018 at 8:11 pm

     Probably not until 2020. You will have to convince the Dems like Sanders, Warren and Murphy to let go of annual testing. The Republicans are not the problem. The Dems love annual testing. Still waiting for the Texas miracle. Or Superman.

     Reply
     • LeftCoastTeacher says:

       November 21, 2018 at 8:41 pm

       The Democratic House is no different?Doesn’t even Ocasio et al. make a small difference? (I ask knowing the answer is no. I ask out of frustration.) Dang it.

     • dianeravitch says:

       November 21, 2018 at 8:46 pm

       ESSA was written by the Senators on the HELP committee. Chiefly, Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray. Lamar was ready to remove federal mandates. The Dems fought to keep the most punitive features of NCLB. They listened to Bill Gates.

     • GregB says:

       November 21, 2018 at 9:12 pm

       I was in contact with a friend in CT who loves Murphy. When I explained his horrible positions on education, this person would have none of it. His positions on gun control (driven by Sandy Hook) were all that mattered. It seems that Murphy is a student of Kasich—find an issue to distract everyone about your other failings.

     • dianeravitch says:

       November 21, 2018 at 9:59 pm

       Murphy is great on everything but education.

     • Caligirl says:

       November 21, 2018 at 11:05 pm

       Like Obama- good on everything except education…

     • dianeravitch says:

       November 21, 2018 at 11:08 pm

       Exactly right.
       We have to educate the Obama Democrats about the importance of public schools to democracy and wean them away from the DeVos agenda.

     • retiredbutmissthekids says:

       November 22, 2018 at 3:45 am

       This is infuriating to hear about Sanders & Warren. I have never tried to get in touch w/Warren or her campaign–that would be something if the MEA & Barbara Mandolini (sp-?) could grab her, do a sit-down, & get her schooled.
       As for Bernie, when he was running in 2016, a friend of mine who was a delegate (& is also a retired teacher) tried & tried to get to his campaign people (& him) to educate him as to what actually is happening in & to public education today, but all failed. Whenever I’d talk to campaign people–here in ILL-Annoy & in other states–I found (probably no more in his than in others’ campaigns) lots of inexperienced newbies who would act, on conference calls, like cheerleaders; lots of fluff came up. It was an exercise in futility. As I just stated RE: Warren, I would ask that Vermont public school teachers & union people please get directly to him in Burlington & have a long, long sit-down. Too much time has passed w/regard to our most important issue.
       Listen to the teachers & parents!!!

     • Christine Langhoff says:

       November 22, 2018 at 10:58 am

       Retiredbut miss the kids-

       We did manage to educate Snders and Warren about the dangers of charter schools during the Novemeber 2016 campaign to keep a cap on charters in Massachusetts. (That’s Barbara Madeloni, btw, who was president of the MTA. She was term limited, but her successor is cut from similar cloth.) Testing is the next dimension. It doesn’t help when TFA sends interns to senators, as was once the case with Warren.